Mill purchases of ferrous scrap in St. Louis at lull

Dec 05, 2008 | 10:41 AM | Bryan Berry

U.S. Steel Corp.'s Granite City (Ill.) Works and Alton Steel Inc., Alton, Ill., are buying little or no scrap in December, according to St. Louis scrap dealers, who say the Granite City Works is shut down and could remain that way until January, February or even March.

Alton Steel is buying minimal tonnages of No. 2 heavy melt, sources said.

Down the Mississippi River, Nucor Corp.'s Hickman, Ark., mill is said to be buying small tonnages of No. 1 busheling and shredded auto scrap from St. Louis. Other mills that sometimes buy from St. Louis—Nucor-Yamato Steel Co., Blytheville, Ark.; Gallatin Steel Co., Ghent, Ky.; Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Ind.; Svenskt Stal AB's Montpelier, Iowa, mill; and Keystone Steel & Wire Co., Peoria, Ill.—are not buying from St. Louis this month, according to scrap dealers.....